5, 4, 3, 2 - MOVE!
Meet Your Most Powerful Tool
Chances are that your phone is one of items that you look at first thing in the morning. We constantly glance at our phones and other devices for comfort. Here are some tips you can use to make your quality time with your gadgets even more productive.
GEt INspired
Set your LOCK screen to a food group that you’re trying to eat more of. For example, I often will set mine to a photo of colorful fruits and vegetables. Give it a few days and notice you’re craving colorful and nutrient dense foods all of the sudden. I promise you, this actually works.
If I happen upon a recipe that sparks interest there’s still a good chance it will chill on my Pinterest board for a year before I get around to making it. However if I set a photo of it to my lock screen I usually make it within 3 days. Making space for such things in my life brings me a lot of happiness.
Now that you’ve got your lock screen set to something you're going to start craving more of, next set your HOME screen to something that makes you LOVE yourself. Do not set your lock screen to something that reminds you that you think you’re fat. If you don’t have a photo that you love of yourself, try searching a positive themed hashtag and use a quote instead. But keep it focused on positive self talk. This is your (multiple time a day) reminder that YOU ARE WORTH THE EXTRA EFFORT, ALWAYS.
How to get beyond the emotion of the problem
Timing your meals by using your phone alarm.
I’m a constant snacker. This is a great trick to help control that type of behavior when you need to. The great thing about this strategy is that you know the alarm is set so there’s no insecurity about when you’re going to eat next, it will happen.
In the meantime you will think about eating and by thinking about it and not doing it you will start to notice little cues that your body gives you. How it signals a craving or if you’re really depleted from a work out or even a stressful meeting.
After a big stressful event my first thought is to reach for the M&Ms. I don’t do it as a reward for making it through a very stressful moment. Rather I do it because I’ve been stressed and the hormones of stress are sending me some really wacky messages and I’m reacting to them. Stress isn’t always avoidable or predictable but we can re-train our bodies response to it by using a timer. Knowing that there is a break coming and that all you need to do is wait for that alarm to go off puts space between you and the symptoms of stress but not so much space that you will feel deprived and end up eating a whole cake for dinner later.
5 second rule!